ALMOST half of people in Yorkshire and Humberside will happily - and knowingly - buy fake clothing and footwear, according to a new report.

ALMOST half of people in Yorkshire and Humberside will happily - and knowingly - buy fake clothing and footwear, according to a new report.

But consumer watchdogs have warned that those behind the fakes could be villains involved in serious crimes.

A survey by the Anti-Counterfeiting Group found that 40% of respondents would buy counterfeit clothes, shoes or trainers - a higher proportion than any other part of the country.

Paul Smith, principal trading standards officer at West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service's fair trading department, said: "The fake clothing we find here is often very convincing. A lot of people are prepared to buy these products because they can get them cheaply."

But he said he did not believe that people realised who their money was going to.

"What they don't know is that organised crime is moving into counterfeiting because they can make high profits.

" I think the public perceive counterfeiting as a `Robin hood' type of crime, but they don't see the sinister side of it. Many people sell drugs to raise money to buy their counterfeit stock," he said.

The International Chamber of Commerce estimates that counterfeiting costs the global economy $440bn (£250bn) annually.

* A total of £25,000 worth of counterfeit CDs and DVDs was seized by trading standards officers at a car boot sale in Halifax.

The officers were joined by West Yorkshire police and specialist fraud investigators from the Department of Work and Pensions.

A further £5,000 worth of property was discovered in traders' cars and homes by the British Phonograph Industry.

Three people have been arrested pending further investigation, and

a number of traders were discovered to be working illegally while claiming benefits.